Requiring License Could Be 1 Step In Saving The Bay

The letter was handwritten on a piece of paper torn from a stenographer's notebook and it was unsigned.

"You've told us what's wrong with the Chesapeake Bay," it read, "now tell us how to fix it."

That was it. No gaudy phrases or disagreement. Just a simple request.

Nobody knows for sure what's wrong with the Chesapeake Bay. They only know the symptoms: The most important aquatic spawning ground and nursery on the East Coast is becoming sterile.

The populations of several important fish stocks, from herring to flounder, are dangerously low. Other fish that are as important to recreation as the seafood industry, are neither as abundant nor as big as they were a few years ago.

Depending on who is doing the research, an accusing finger has been pointed at waste discharged into the bay, agricultural runoff, and overfishing. The reality of the problem undoubtedly includes all of the above.

The solution should be equally shared.

As unpopular as the concept has been, there needs to be a sports fishing license to fish the Chesapeake.

The license isn't needed to raise money for bay research and cleanup efforts. It's needed to provide extremely important data.

At present there is no accurate way to count or identify those who use the bay for recreational fishing. Guesstimates put the figure at 1 million people a year.

A license, which would cost a dollar or two to fund the agency that issues it, would provide an accurate count. It would also give the various conservation and research groups mailing access to the people their work directly benefits.

Holders of bay licenses could receive information on threatened fish stocks, proper methods on releasing fish, updates on tagging programs, and telephone numbers to call if they spot something out of the ordinary. They would also be a contact base when volunteers are needed for special programs.

License holders are the backbone of success for freshwater fish management and conservation efforts. Every freshwater fishing education program starts with license holders being contacted.

There are currently dozens of groups involved in Chesapeake Bay research and conservation. The focal point of license holders would better unify their efforts.

A second step would be creel and commercial net limits on all species. Better to limit the catch now than reach a point where there is no catch at all.

The Commerce Department, overlord of the National Marine Fisheries Service, needs to establish new offshore trawler limits.

Virginia Marine Resources Commission trawler regulations apply only to the state's three-mile territorial waters. Unfortunately, bluefish, flounder, herring, striped bass, etc., spend part of their lives in the open sea, well beyond the three-mile limit.

Federal regulations compatible to current state regulations would complete the ongoing management efforts.

The watermen and commercial fishermen whose livelihood is harvesting Chesapeake Bay resources cannot be left flapping in the wind of politics and conservation crusade.

They must be given a priority in the education process. Aquaculture, stocking procedures, harvesting methods that reduce the mortality rate of "throwbacks," all this information should be made easily available. As should grants that would help them finance these endeavors.

Those are key places to start fixing what's wrong with the Chesapeake Bay. There is no miracle cure or shortcut. There is only the hard work and patience of everybody involved.